“The only excuse a Rational Cyclist can have for bothering with a camp outfit on a tour is either that he is poor, or has too much of the savage remaining in his composition. Rationally speaking he need not be ashamed of either.”

Thus begins Thomas Hiram Holding’s book Cycle and Camp, written in 1897 when even outdoor activities were undertaken in three-piece suits. Calling himself “The Skipper” and writing at times in the third person and quite tongue-in-cheek, this London tailor with vast experience in boating, cycling and camping —before the existence of nylon, batteries or zippers— expounds on his new way in which everyone can get out and enjoy an affordable holiday in the country. Part travelogue round rural west Ireland and part how-to manual, including details for sewing ones own tent, his book tells of a late Victorian time of horse-drawn mailcars, kitchens with peat fires for cooking, and farmhouses shared with cattle.

This graphic novel is a faithful adaption of Holding’s book, his pioneering adventure told entirely in his own idiosyncratic and rather opinionated words.

In July 1897, T.H. Holding designs a tiny lightweight tent, having had the idea for fifteen years. He and three friends trial a three-day trip over unpaved Irish roads on their heavy steel single-geared bicycles, all four sleeping in a six-by-six-foot space (although one of their party weighs 14 stone!).

They visit castles, churches, historic ruins, standing stones and even a cave, and come upon the Ordnance Survey at work.They try unsuccessfully to obtain buttermilk from farmhouses which clearly have it. One suffers a puncture from a ginger beer wire, another has a valve damaged in pumping which requires a blacksmith’s help. Two of the four cycles turn out to be quite unsuited to touring so progress is slow and Holding has much to say about the inefficient design of this unusual early type of bicycle. Rain makes roads into deep slippery mortar-like mud, with ridges of sharp broken stone. A strong wind “in its spiral peregrinations twisted fine granite in wild waves and blew them upon us” as they ride, reducing their speed to four miles per hour. They are told wrong distances by the locals; “this, of course, everyone who has toured in Ireland has found out for himself before today.”

The Skipper cooks full breakfasts of coffee, oatmeal, eggs and bacon for four men on a tiny campstove. For lunch, they buy hot potatoes from houses along the road, baskets of them being a common sight at 1pm, and they buy eggs and hire blankets in the evenings.

For their first-ever camp, in a farmer’s field, they are required to help fork hay into haycocks for an hour beforehand. They find a sheltered corner in accordance with Holding’s long list of requirements for an ideal site, spreading hay under the groundsheet, fitting the custom-made wooden poles together and tying clove hitches (Holding provides illustrated instructions) to peg out the tent. They try different sleeping arrangments to fit the tiny space. How to stay dry, wash utensils, operate campstoves, use candles for tent lighting and get on without conflict are all spelt out, as well as thoughts on tin openers and cattle, economics and the deficiencies of hotels, weather prediction and much more. Holding ends his book by writing:

“Should there be any difficulty in which the author - though a busy man - can help a brother wheelman he will promise to do what he can. If letters are not answered promptly by return or very lengthy ones should receive short replies this explanation must be taken as the reason.”

Such was the interest received that within four years, Holding had founded an organisation that became today’s Camping and Caravanning Club, and he became known as “the father of modern camping.”